Theres been heaps of threads dissing half ok albums like Graffiti Bridge and Emancipation etc, but no one has looked at 1992's Symbol. I mean this album is seriously bad.
Grafitti Bridge at least has a few gems on it, but theres nothing on Symbol thats a gem. 7, Morning Papers and a couple of other songs are OK but the rest is a self indulgent experiment. The shit dated the moment it came out.
The only reason it did fairly well was because of the hype caused by Diamonds and Pearls (Just like the ATWIAD sales figures caused by Purple Rain fans expecting Purple Rain II).
U look at it theres hardly anything good on it. Theres no Joy in Repetition, The Holy River or Musicology type songs here. I mean 7 is a fairly average pop song and The Morning Papers is a fairly good soul ballad, but sandwiched in amongst the ok stuff is filler like Blue Light, Arrogance, The Flow, Damn u and to add to it some of the weakest Tony M raps this side of 1992.
He kind of deserved it after he sacked the talented Rosie Gaines and Diamond and Pearl (Why kil a winning recipe man).
The only 4 out of 5 song is my name is Prince, its a good starter, shame it goes downhill after that, aamzing how Prince got over the Victor nonsense afterwards. Sorry guyas but I got over this album in early 93.
So do you agree and do you think Graffiti Bridge is Sign o the times compared to this self indulgent boondoggle.

I disagree.

This is a complete album.

My Name is Prince is a kickass starter. Cocky, Funky and Prince

Sexy MF is not appreciated enough. Its more Nasty badass Prince. The baseline is epic.

Love 2 tha 9s is catchy as hell.

The Morning Papers is a cool little rock song with great guitar solos.

I like Blue Light but understand why some folks may not.

The Flow is fun.

The Max has a killer beat.

Damn U is another great Prince ballad. Simple and smooth

Sweet Baby is more simple and catchy pop music.

The Sacrifice of Victor is great with his falsetto and energy.

7 is original and is addictive right from the start.

Arrogance is another track that I like but understand why eveyone doesnt.

I Wanna Melt with U is cool and creepy enough to keep me interested.

3 Chains of Gold is absolute greatness. Unlike anything he has ever done. Love the guitar solo.


In case you havent noticed, I love this album, and dig it when he changes styles so many times within the same CD. In my humble opinion, this is one of only about 6 or 7 complete albums that he has ever done.
[Edited 3/14/06 15:33pm]

shutcha mouth!

my name is prince
sexy mf
the continental
the max
damn u
morning papers
love 2 the 9s
i wanna melt with u
7

and a buncha stuff i'm sure i'm forgetting...i think of this as prince's post-vegas excess album, but in a way the kitsch value of the album is working in its favor the older it gets. i love this album.

It's one of my favorite albums also... So I won't repeat what's just been said !

Anx said:

Yup, me too. Yu forgot Sacrifice of Victor though, which to my ears sounds like it slid off Lovesexy.

Number23 said:

i hated that song for a long time, but i started getting into it more over the past couple of years. i used to completely disregard the last few songs on that album cuz it just sounded like a free-for-all...but now it sounds to me like the genesis of him going completely over the bend, so needless to say i enjoy the sound of his artistic mental collapse.

And God Created Woman

DarkKnight1 said:

Damn!!! I cant believe I forgot about When God Created Women.
This album truly is one of my favorites.

Anx said:

Aye.

DAP is 10 times worse

DarkKnight1 said:

co-sign.

Sacrifice of Victor is my favorite Song off this album I love the symbol album too

Dewrede said:

I agree.

tane1976 said:

Your "fam" status has been revoked.

Dewrede said:

You take that back!

NouveauDance said:

crazy, love this album

especially sweet baby

FrancerulzV99 said:

Not saying the whole album is bad

tane1976 said:

I agree. I do like certain cuts like 7, ...and God Created Woman, The Continental...but for the most part this album was a huge disappointment at the time and it still sucks ass. I liked Diamonds and Pearls MUCH more than this. Also 3 Chains o Gold has got to be THE worst piece of overproduced, overdramatic, Bohemian Rhapsody-rip off, flat out shit song the guy ever made. The only song that I hate more than this is the title track from Graffiti Bridge. This is the album that STOPPED me from being a Prince fan for awhile.

I disagree wholeheartedly. I like this album more than Purple Rain and Parade among others. It's easily one of my favorite Prince albums.

With the exception of Arrogance and The Flow, I love the hell outta this album.

3 Chains of Gold is off the chain! I love it!

And 7? nuff said.

babynoz said:

I hate those 2 songs(arrogance and the flow), but aside from those, this album is fantastic. Not in the same league as most of his 80's albums, but its in that next group of very Good ones. Its a shame this one didn't sell better.

I just remembered something else. i have a good friend of mine and this was the album that got him into Prince. Funny he was here a couple weeks ago, ex took all his cds and he was like "make me copies of the cha ching album and gold"

Good taste

Love 2 The 9's man, Love 2 The 9's

I know it gets knocked for the rapping in the 2nd half, but I don't find it bothers me, I like the change in the song, and the whole audition thing 'What sign you are?.... Stop sign!'..... etc

Man, The Symbol Album rocks totally! It might have this strange "concept album" theme going around it, but it just proves that Prince was still the man in the 90's. Love 2 The 9's is a jam. Tane1976, listen to this album a little more closely...

great album!! in my top 7 of fav Prince albums

I think this might be one of the worst threads ever!!!!!

as with almost every song he's on, The Sacrifice of Victor would
be a Prince classic if Tony didn't do a rap on it.

I love that song but I always have to cringe when Tony drops in,
doing his horrible thing.

and I agree with the original poster that, as an album, the cd
feels incomplete and messy. some songs are great but i never ever
play the album anymore.

WHAT ???? The Symbol album rocks !!!!!

Is one of my favorit albums.. The only songs I don't like on this album is "Sexy MF" & "7".. I always skip those tracks. I adore "Sweet baby" & "Damn U".